The Society of S

A Novel

By: Susan Hubbard

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

What if everything you knew about your family was a lie? What if, when the lies began to crack, beneath them lay a truth so dark and deep, yet so compelling, that it pulled you inside?

Ariella Montero is seeking the true identities of her mother and father - and of herself. She's been taught literature, philosophy, science, and history, but she knows almost nothing about the real world and its complexities. Her world is one in which ghosts and vampires commune with humans, where Edgar Allan Poe and Jack Kerouac are role models, and where every time a puzzle seems solved, its last piece changes the entire picture.

When the last piece is murder, Ari goes on the road in search of her mother, who disappeared at the time of her birth. The hunt nearly costs Ari her life, and, in finding her mother, she loses her father. But gradually, she uncovers the secrets that have kept the family apart, and she begins to come to terms with her own unique nature and her chances for survival.

Set in upstate New York, England, and the American South, The Society of S explodes stereotypes: of the home-schooled, vampires, monkeys, FBI agents, and academics. In this strange new world, vegetarianism, environmentalism, biomedical research, and the ability to disappear are options for those who drink blood and face the prospect of eternal life.

A taut, character-driven literary mystery, The Society of S is the future of vampirism, told in a voice that will haunt you and make you think.

©2007 Susan Hubbard (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Identity issues involving a child of mixed heritage get a supernatural spin in this affecting coming-of-age tale." (Publishers Weekly)

boring!!

This book was slow from beginning to end. The storyline was weak and didn't have much depth. It is hard to buy into vegetarian vampires! If you like vampire stories, you will be sadly disappointed with this one.

I couldn't find a plot. Slow. Glacially slow.

Couldn't bring myself to keep going. I am not one to abandon a book easily. I couldn't find a plot. I didn't care about the characters. And the narrator just felt dreary. Sorry. This one is not my cuppa.

Strange and dull

After six years of gobbling up audiobooks like cookies, this one stands out as my least favorite.

The story alternated between boring and awkwardly uncomfortable for the first three-quarters of the book. It felt like the author was trying to take the flashy vampire genre and stuff it into a more literary corner by removing any hint of shine. None of the characters seemed worth knowing and the storyline was plodding, so I was neither attached to any of the people nor the plot. I found myself putting off activities I usually do while listening to audios. There was a flurry of activity as the book came to a close, but instead of drawing the storyline together it just stood out as odd pacing.

The premise sounded good, and I’m a big fan of all sorts of urban fantasy, paranormals, and young adult stories so this sounded right up my ally. Unfortunately it just didn’t work. There just wasn’t anything here to hold interest. I feel bad to be so negative and would love to be able to offer a suggestion as to who might enjoy this. But looking back, I can’t quite figure out whose cup of tea this was meant to be. The narrator did a good job, but overall I'd say pass on this one.

Coming of age novel; side of vampires.

Back away if you're looking for Anne Rice or Laurel K. This probably won't work for you. It's mostly a coming of age novel -- far more like City of Light or To Kill a Mockingbird than Angel's Summer Vacation in the Buffyverse. However, for fans of the genre in general, looking for something new, it's excellent. There's a mimimum of mysticism, a decent level of rationality and hard logic as well as the emotional hooks that surround any adolescent story of growth. I found it fascinating for the language, the raw emotionalism and the slowly unfolding mystery; if you need action from page two and aren't at least as interested in the why people do things as the how they do them, then you may not enjoy this book. It's definitely a story of a family, fractured, and two parents doing the best they can to raise their very special child.

Fun, but young adultish

Fun story, but it really felt like it should have been categorized as young adult. The narrator did a nice job with the voices and the author has a nice turn of phrase, but the "do you feel that way too?" question throughout the book drove me nuts. All-in-all a fun distraction.

Liked it

I thought that the story itself was well written. The characters were intersting and the descriptions were rich.
What I didn't like was its similarity to the Father/Daughter combo in The Historian, Calamity Physics and a bit like the Thirteen Tales. Yet another story about a smart girl without the guidance of a mother and her relationship with her father as it reflects on her own special gifts.
This isn't to say I didn't enjoy it, and perhaps there is just a glut of stories with the father/daughter theme out just now.
I did enjoy the story and the narration. I look forward to the next offering to come from this author.

Probably would have liked it more if I were a teen

Definitely a young adult novel. With an interesting twist on vampirism in Part 3. Lots of metaphors for contemplation.

What is the point?

Slow, plodding, pointless. Yet another teen who rebels against her parents, this time with a supernatural twist. Avoid.

Not very cohesive

Firstly, the way this narrator does male voices is absolutely terrible. She does this voice for Ariella's father that sounds like an 80-year-old on a voice box. I hated that. Vampires are supposed to be very suave and attractive, and her voice for the father was the exact opposite. I wouldn't even critique the narrator except that it really did detract from my enjoyment of the book.
Secondly, the story itself completely lacks cohesiveness. It really is more of a diary than a book. The author builds these characters up to a point and then doesn't utilize them. It was totally strange.
I think of all the vampire novels I've read (and I have read many) this is going to have to be the most un-enjoyable. Sorry, Susan Hubbard, I tried!

Drags A Bit

This series took me to book two, but it wasn't worth the investment. This tame world of vampires and manipulation isn't really worth it in the end.